Friday, November 25, 2016

Hudud, Christians and religion already in politics

“My
people are going to learn the principles of democracy the dictates of
truth and the teachings of science. Superstition must go. Let them
worship as they will, every man can follow his own conscience provided
it does not interfere with sane reason or bid him act against the
liberty of his fellow men.” - Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Turkish Republic

The propaganda that Malaysia is an Islamic state is as fantastical as
the idea that Malaysia is a secular state. By this I mean proponents of
either have a hard time making their case because nobody seems to give a
damn about Malaysia’s constitution.

Nobody is committed to the idea or spirit of a secular state, and
Umno, PAS and any Muslim politician are merely using the idea of an
Islamic state as a fig leaf to religious supremacy or as political
capital to shore up Muslim support because of the numerous pecuniary
scandals that plague the behemoth.

I can honestly say that if hands were chopped off for theft, nobody
in Parliament would be not armed with prosthetics because political
corruption always finds a way of differentiating itself from the average
criminality that Muslims preachers seem obsessed with.

This, of course, brings me to hudud and Gerakan Youth deputy chief Andy Yong’s salvo
against Malacca and Johor Catholic Diocese bishop Bernard Paul for not
respecting the boundaries between church and state. When Yong cautions,
"He (the bishop) should consider whether he risks fuelling the anger
sentiment towards others with different faith and political support,”
all this is part of the “fighting with one hand tied behind the back”
propaganda that has been drummed into Malaysian oppositional voices
post-1969.

There is no point in denying that there is an anti-Christian
narrative in this country. Unlike many of my opposition brethren, I read
many pro-Umno/establishment blogs and nowhere have I found credible
evidence that “Christians” are attempting to convert Muslims and are
attempting to set up a Christian state.

However, I have written this-
“In my opinion, the central issue is how Islam has been weaponised in
this country (and many parts of the world) by the state. This is not a
legal issue but a political issue. Nowhere is this clearer in a
constitution that privileges one community over the others. Nowhere is
this clearer when on the eve of an important election, the head of a
ruling coalition makes it clear that he will use his influence -
influence that I may add is supposed to be anathema to an independent
judiciary - to correct a grave injustice that was the Rooney Rebit case.”

There is no separation of church and state, or more accurately mosque
and state, in this country. This idea of “tolerance” as opposed to
“acceptance” has been the lynchpin of the so-called social contract when
it comes to race and religion. The Umno establishment characterised the
Bersih rally as a Chinese attempt to subvert power. The red-shirts led
by - the unwashed for four days - Jamal Md Yunos was based on religious and racial superiority.

When the political, social and economic reality is predicated on
religious superiority and oppression, religious people need to find ways
to express themselves in democratic spaces and at the same time realise
that the only security they have against further aggression is by
supporting secular values.

Boundaries blurred

Religious activism in support of democratic principles has a rich
tradition from the Salt March to Selma, and while I agree that politics
and religion should never mix, my belief is that this extends on to
government policy and not individual conscience. While I despise
politicians who wear their religious credentials like some sort of badge
of honour, I do not have problem with religious organisations taking a
stand on issues, especially those that impugn on their right of
religious freedom.

And the best way to ensure your religious freedoms - besides
advocating for a secular state, which so far no religious figure has
overtly advocated - is by ensuring free and fair elections and ensuring
that corrupt politicians do not make pacts with religious extremists
with the aim of maintaining hegemony.

Anybody making the claim that Christians or their religious
organisations should not interfere in politics but more importantly
making the claim based on so-called secular values is either mendacious
or naïve when it comes to the reality of the Malaysian political
terrain. What I have been contemptuous of is the agenda of Christian
politicians using religion as political capital and claiming to be
secular while funding Islamic organisations to pander to the
Malay/Muslim vote.

See the difference?

This difference is important. When Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid
Hamidi invites “Muslim” members of parliament for a special briefing on
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s proposed hudud bill, this is exactly
the type of malfeasance that is detrimental to secular values.
Opposition to this bill needs to made by credible individuals and
credible individuals are those who have not used religion when it suits
their purposes.

Credibility is achieved by politicians who leave their religious
affiliations at the door and this is especially important for non-Muslim
politicians when it comes to dealing with the Umno state. I have made
this argument before
- “I have argued that the non-Malay power structures are contributing
to the indoctrination process by supporting Umno-enabled institutions
thereby setting back any kind of progressive movement in the Malay
community. Furthermore, I have been critical of opposition parties that
have been reluctant to redefine and propagate ideas that are the exact
opposite of the Umno narrative of what it means to be Malay and Muslim.”

In former law minister Zaid Ibrahim’s open letter
to members of parliament, he specifically signalled out non-Muslims not
to worry about voting against this “bad law”. To wit, “It’s your duty
to oppose the bill, even if the law does not directly apply to you or
your community. You have a duty to fight for justice for all
Malaysians.”

This is an extremely important point. In answering Dr Jeyakumar
Devaraj’s - one of the few politicians I admire - question, “Do
non-Muslims have a right to object to the way in which Muslims choose to
practise their religion?”, I wrote
- “When we object to certain practices of the state which we deem
immoral or corrupt, we do so as citizens of the country. The same
principle applies to certain religious practices. We speak for those who
cannot, we support those who have been unfairly targeted and who have
no choice as to whether they accept or reject religious dogma as defined
by the state.”

If the boundaries are blurred between mosque and state, it is because
this Umno administration is mired in financial scandals and there are
sub rosa agents who have always been part of the Umno establishment who
would use a weak leader to further their Wahhabi goals.

We have to be careful when we cross that line between church and state but cross it we must, if we want to save our country.S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy.

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